HAARETZ 1. JERUSALEM UNSURE ABOUT SULEIMAN MEDIATING INITIATIVE: ARAFAT MOCKING EGYPT. Sharon on PA Chairman: He will remain in Mukata for next 45 years. 2. TERRORIST ARRESTED ON WAY TO JERUSALEM TERROR ATTACK. 3. TODAY: ARBELS OPINION ON GREEK ISLAND CASE TO BE PUBLISHED. HATZOFEH 1. Sharon: I will never let Arafat leave the Mukata. EGYPTIAN PLAN: CONTROL SHARON-ARAFAT NEGOTIATIONS. Egyptian plan: Unify Palestinian security services, collect weapons and cease incitement against Israel. Israeli response: This is an attempt by Arafat to gain time. Sharon to ministers: I am the only one who is authorized to conduct contacts with Egyptians. 2. JERUSALEM TERROR ATTACK ORGANISED BY HEZBOLLAH THWARTED. MAARIV 1. (
). UNDERCOVER AGENTS SCREWUP. (
). 2. YESHA RABBIS COUNCIL RULES: SOLDIERS FORBIDDEN TO EVACUATE SETTLEMENTS. YEDIOT AHRONOT 1. YESHA RABBIS TO SOLDIERS: YOU ARE FORBIDDEN TO EVACUATE SETTLEMENTS. Unprecedented call ahead of disengagement. IDF to present Operation Splendor of Heaven for implementing disengagement. Sharon: Arafat to remain under siege for another 45 years. 2. BURG QUITTING. As announced first in Yediot Ahronot, former Knesset speaker moving to private business.
______________________________ SUMMARY OF EDITORIALS FROM THE HEBREW PRESS Yediot Ahronot comments on former US President Bill Clintons book. The editors remind their readers that in his book, Clinton refers to Yasser Arafat as, an amorphous and enigmatic figure, and, a leader who hasnt freed himself from his revolutionary past. The paper believes that, This description reinforces the view of Arafat as a man of chaos and destruction. The paper says: Just as Mao Zedong knowingly led the Chinese people into poverty, distress and a life of terror via the Cultural Revolution of 1965, so did Arafat do to the Palestinian people via the intifada revolution of 2000. Arafat is to the contemporary Palestinian upheaval and depression like a fish is to water. Its his natural environment. It is useless to propose borders and peace settlements to him. From his point-of-view, a permanent agreement with Israel means the end of unrest among the Palestinian people and, therefore, the end of his leadership as well. He will find some excuse to reject every settlement proposal and get back on the track of violence. The PLO Chairman lives only for the struggle and is incapable of disengaging from it. The unceasing struggle against Israel is the air he breathes. From the testimony in Clintons book, as well as from IDF Intelligence Corps assessments, it is clear that Arafat will never lead the Palestinian people to the promised land of an independent, sovereign state. Only when his people wander in the wilderness can Arafat be their king. The editors also remind their readers that Clinton accuses Israel of systematically torpedoing any chance of a settlement with Syria and suggest that the reason has nothing to do with security but with Israeli leaders fear of paying the political price for withdrawing from the Golan Heights. The paper concludes: Arafat will not sign a final peace agreement with Israel because he doesnt want a final settlement that will lead to an end of the conflict, and it doesnt matter what its terms are. Assad will sign. We must talk with him, immediately. Hatzofeh discusses recent events in Iraq and deplores the fact that, A bunch of extremist terrorist Muslims, who sense the weakness of the west, are forcing the capitulation of entire democratic, peace-seeking countries; to this end the editors note that the murder by beheading of a South Korean national in Iraq was met by mass demonstrations in South Korea in favor of recalling all of South Koreas forces from Iraq. The editors believe that a US withdrawal from Iraq would lead to the reestablishment of a dictatorship there, similar to the dictatorships in other Arab countries and call on the US to greatly intensify its war against terrorism because, This is the only language that extremist Islam understands.
